Water Drum with Beater

Water Drum with Beater

This Water Drum with Beater will make a  perfect addition to your collection!  The crafter made it from a premade wood base.  He painted it a dark red and added a metal band on the bottom that is also painted red.  It comes with a piece of walnut dyed Braintanned  Deerskin Leather.  The crafter wrapped the top rim with Green fabric.  It comes with a removable stopper that is not painted. This Water Drum with Beater measures about 3.75 inches tall with a 6 inch diameter base. The unpainted beater measures 10.5 inches long.

One of a Kind!

Water Drums are an instrument that consist of a hollow chamber that users fill with water to create a unique sound. Native Americans from North and South America use Water Drums in their ceremonies and social gatherings. Sometimes musicians make them from clay or old crockery in addition to hollowed out wood. Water drums typically come with a hole in their side for adding or letting out water once the cover is on.  People plug the hole with a stopper.  The water inside the drum creates a unique timbre, and musicians can wet the drum itself, as well as the batter side, to varying degrees to create different tonalities.  You can try this Water Drum with Beater and see what kind of sound you get.

Some crafters make larger drums from barrels made from wood like cedar or linden.  They moisten the drum skin with water. These instruments are particularly significant in the Longhouse social dances and ceremonies of the Huron/Wendat/Wyandot and Iroquois/Haudenosaune peoples.  Other groups like the Navajo, Cherokee, Muscogee, and Apache peoples also use water drums in their music and ceremonies. 

Shop for more Instruments

Read the Denver Art Museum leaflet on Indian Musical and Noise-Making Instruments!

Watch our You Tube Video How to Make a Hand Drum